AN- So this is my first story... please go easy on me X_X

Any advice and what not will be HIGHLY appreciated... but please don't flame me hahaha.

Disclaimer: Goojila DOES not own anything from the Persona series.

Enjoy

Tatsumi Port Island, Tokyo, Japan

April 6, 2009

Time never waits.

It delivers all equally to the same end.

You, who wish to safeguard the future,

however limited it may be...

You will be given one year;

go forth without falter,

with your heart as your guide...

Hamuko Usami was unusually nervous. Was it the fact that she was returning to THIS city? No, that didn't really bother her too much. Although Hamuko thought of other possibilities, none of them seemed plausible. Why couldn't she place her finger on the source of this feeling? Sighing, Hamuko resumed a song on her mp3 and closed her eyes.

"Due to a malfunction in the switching system, today's rail schedule has been greatly altered." The train conductor announced through the speakers, "We apologize to any customers who were in a hurry. The next stop is Iwatodai… Iwatodai. This is the final train bound for Tatsumi Port Island. Please take care to board before our departure."

Light flooded back into Hamuko's cherry red eyes as a monotonous voice rang out to repeat the message. Yawning, she dragged her tired body out of her seat and departed from the train. Checking a nearby clock, Hamuko's eyes widened at sight of the time.

"Crap, it's already almost midnight? I should hurry to the dorm..." The young girl pulled out her map of the city and began tracing a route to her destination. Seconds passed, and that same eerie sensation she felt in her stomach lurched itself back.

23:59:57

23:59:58

23:59:59

00:00

"Huh? Why did it die?" Hamuko checked her mp3 to make sure nothing was wrong. "That's weird... I thought I replaced the batteries before the ride." Sighing, she walked out of the station.

Tatsumi Port was in complete silence. This was odd. Tokyo was known to be active even at night. Hamuko's fears and anxiety continued to grow as she walked down the streets.

"Those things aren't coffins, right?" Hamuko thought as she noticed objects sticking out of the ground. Her feet began to move even faster.

"Here it is, my new home." Above her was an enormous dorm building: her future home. Hamuko had to smile; after all, she did survive this crazy night.

"ARHHHHHH" A voice shrieked out in the far distance. Hamuko quickly turned in the direction of the voice. Nothing. The sick sensation was back again. Quickly running up the steps, Hamuko opened up the door. As she closed it, she spun around, only to find nothing. She could have sworn that she had felt two eyes on her.

"You're late. I've been waiting a long time for you."

Hamuko looked up to see a young (and creepy) boy leaning over the counter.

"Who are you?"

Ignoring her, the strange snapped his fingers and produced a sheet of paper out of thin air.

"Now, if you want to proceed, please sign your name there."

"But..."

"Don't worry, it's just a contract. All it says is that you'll take full responsibility for your actions."

Sighing, Hamuko began to scan the document.

I, Minato Arisato, chooseth this fate of mine own free will.

Raising her eyebrow, Hamuko pointed at the contract. "Hey, there's someone's name here already."

"I'm terribly sorry. I must have given you the wrong paper. Here, sign this." The boy gave Hamuko another paper. She signed it.

I, Hamuko Usami, chooseth this fate of mine own free will.

"Excellent." The boy quickly snatched up the document as soon as her pen lifted from the paper.

"Who was the other guy?" The boy looked at her, amused.

"Another person came before you did. He signed the paper like you, accepting the terms of the paper."

Hamuko relaxed. Every new tenant at this dorm probably had to sign this contract. There was no need to worry.

"No one can escape time. It delivers us all to the same end." The boy was gone; yet, his voice still lingered in the air. "You can't plug your ears and cover your eyes."

"Wait, what are yo-"

"And so it begins."

"What's goi-" Nothing was making sense to Hamuko now. Just what WAS going on?

"Who's there?" A new voice emerged from the darkness. Hamuko hoped that it wasn't another creepy child.

To Hamuko's relief, a girl emerged from the shadows. She was a pretty looking girl, probably popular at her school. The girl was wearing a pink school uniform, with a red armband that read S.E.E.S.

"Wait, is that a.. gun?" Despite the typical looking outfit, the new girl had a gun holstered to her. The feeling came back. Hamuko couldn't help but a couple steps back.

"It's-it's not what you think." The girl said, flustered. "This is..."

"Takeba, wait!" Another voice came into the room, and an awkward silence began to fill the room.

"Well..." As Hamuko began, the her eyes became flooded with light. Her mp3 turned back on to Hamuko's amazement. Weren't the batteries dead?

"...So, who's the new girl? I thought we only had one transfer student coming in." The pretty girl looked relaxed now, her hand, off the gun.

"Yes, this girl was supposed to be the new transfer student. The boy who came earlier needed a place to sleep overnight. I've talked to the chairman and he's agreed to allow the boy to temporary live here," The other girl explained calmly.

Now that Hamuko got a clear look at the other person, Hamuko could tell that she was a beauty. With flowing red hair and flawless skin, this girl was probably another popular figure at her school.

"I'm sorry for that confusion. You must be scared. My name is Mitsuru Kirijo. I'm one of the students who live in this dorm. This is Yukari Takeba." Mitsuru pointed at the girl with the gun.

"Hey..." Yukari spoke softly, obviously still shaken.

"Nice to meet you." Hamuko smiled politely. Despite her curiosity about the gun, Hamuko decided to drop the issue. Curiosity did kill the cat after all. Raising a question about the gun... could bring some unwanted consequences.

"What's with the gun?"

Hamuko looked up to see a blue haired boy leaning on the railings, staring at her.

"Min-Min-Minato-kun!" Yukari was blushing again. "Um, well, it's sorta like a hobby... Well, not a hobby, but..."

"..." Despite the lack words, it was obvious that he was still skeptical.

"You know how it is these days... It's for self-defense. It's not a real gun, of course," Mitsuru said, stepping in. "By the way, Hamuko, this is Minato Arisato. He's the other student we were talking about."

"Dodging the issue, huh? I should let it drop, but it's obvious that they don't want to walk about the gun," Hamuko thought. As she was thinking this, Hamuko noticed that Minato was already gone.

"He's not much of a talker, is he?" Yukari sighed. "Anyways, I'll show you to your room. Follow me." She began walking up the stairs, with Hamuko following closely.

"This is your room! It should be easy to remember. Farthest room on the third floor. Any questions?" Yukari smiled at Hamuko.

"No, I think you explained everything. Thanks for everything," Hamuko said, lying. Truthfully, she had a million questions. Who was the strange kid? Why was it all green outside? What were coffins doing scattered outside? What's with gun? Hamuko was burning with questions, but she was also fatigued from the long train ride.

Yukari nodded, and began walking down the hall, when she turned around and asked, "Hey, as you were coming here, did you notice anything... weird?"

Hamuko's eyes widened. She there WAS something weird going on. Hamuko began to bite her lips. Should she tell the truth?

"No... I thought I saw some weird stuff, but I'm probably just seeing things... I'm really tired from the long train ride." Hamuko shrugged. Questions could wait until later.

"I see... Never mind, then. Good night." Yukari tuned back around and disappeared down the hall.

As soon as Hamuko went into her room, she immediately sank onto her bed, not caring about anything else. Sleep first, ask questions later.

April 7,2007

"AHHHHH"

The street was covered with blood and fire. Corpses were scattered all over the place. In the center of this pandemonium, was Hamuko.

"Mommy? Daddy? Where are you? You promised to take me to ice cream today."

Hamuko began running, looking for her parents.

"Please don't leave me... I don't want to be alone... MOMMY!"

Yet, Hamuko never found her parents in the sea of bodies. And so, she would continues, looking.

"You'll never find them."

Little Hamuko turned around to see a hooded boy standing behind her.

"So, I guess you can join them." He pulled out a knife, and proceeded to stab her.

"RINNNGG!"

"AHHH!" Hamuko tumbled out of bed. Groaning, she hit the snooze button on her alarm clock. That was odd. Hamuko never dreamt. After years of not dreaming, why would she suddenly have a nightmare about her parents' death? As she pondered about this, Hamuko heard a knock on her door.

"It's Yukari. Are you awake?"

Grumbling, Hamuko pulled herself up and answered back, "Yeah, I'm awake." She opened the door for Yukari.

"Good morning. Did you sleep okay? Mitsuru-senpai asked me to take you to school. It's getting late, so... Are you ready to go?"

Hamuko blinked. "S-Sure?"

"Great! Then let's go."

"WOW, IT'S BEAUTFUL!" Hamuko jumped out of her seat at the sight of the island.

Chuckling, Yukari commented, "You're just like a kid."

Hamuko blushed and quickly sat back down. "It-It's not my fault. I haven't been here in years, and I don't remember the area too well..."

Laughing again, Yukari motioned Hamuko to sit down. "Don't worry, I love this part the most too. The view from the monorail is amazing, isn't it?"

Hamuko smiled and nodded her head in agreement. "By the way, where's Minato-kun? If Mitsuru-sempai told you to escort me, shouldn't she have told you to escort him too?"

Yukari frowned and muttered something incoherent.

"What was that, Yukari-chan?"

"He said that he didn't need my help and quickly took off on his own..." Yukari shook her head. "I just hope he doesn't come crawling to me for help."

Hamuko couldn't help but sweatdrop. "Uh, Yukari-chan? I don't think Minato-kun is the type to do that..."

"Hmph... Anyways, he... Oh, we're here. I'll show you around a bit. Follow me."

"... And the faculty office is right there to the left. Any questions?" Hamuko shook her head. Yukari did a decent job at explaining the basic layout of the school.

"Well, I guess that's that. I'll be seeing you around, okay?" Yukari began to leave, but stopped abruptly.

"Hey... About last night... Don't tell anyone what you saw, okay? ...See ya later"

Hamuko raised an eyebrow and began to listen to her mp3 player. It's not like anyone's going believe her.

"Hamuko Usami... 11th grade correct? Wow, you've lived in a lot of different places... Let's see... In 1999... That was what, ten years ago? Your parents... OH... I'm so sorry... I've been so busy, I didn't have time to read this beforehand." The lady looked at Hamuko, embarrassed.

"Sensei, it's alright. I'm used to it now..." Hamuko looked down sadly.

"Anyways, I'm Ms. Toriumi. I teach composition. Welco-," As Mr. Toriumi droned on, the door cracked open and someone walked in.

"Sorry for the interruption, sensei, but I was told to report here before I headed off..." Minato spoke in a soft, yet confident voice.

"Ah, no worries. Hamuko and I were almost done. I just wanted to review your school files with you and get to know you a little before class began. Now let's see... Where is that file?" Ms. Toriumi muttered as she began searching through her papers.

"Sensei, can reviewing my files wait? I don't want to be late for the Welcoming Ceremony."

"Huh? Oh, yes, I guess this can wait. I'll talk to you after class. See you in homeroom." With a smile, Ms. Toriumi ushered the duo out of the room.

The walk was painfully awkward for Hamuko. Minato wasn't talking much, and she didn't know what to say to him.

"S-So, do you think Ms. Toriumi will find your school file? I mean, it can't suddenly disappear... right?

"Doubt it." Minato continued to walk down the hallway, uninterested.

"Huh?"

"I don't have school files."

"Wait, that's not possible..."

Minato stopped walking, immediately interrupting Hamuko. "We're here."

Yukari Takeba was definitely bored. Every year, the principal recited the same thing over and over. Honestly, couldn't the man find something new to say. Sighing, Yukari slumped in her chair.

"Hey, you know Yukari, right?" Yukari snapped to attention at the mention of her name. "Don't lie to me bro! I heard that you two live in the same dorms. Anyways, my point is, do you know if Yukari has a boyfriend?"

Yukari sighed. Idiots. The first day of school, and she was already getting unwanted attention.

"I don't know. I just met her." Yukari's eyes widened at the sound of the voice. When she turned her head, she saw Minato Arisato casually leaning back on his chair.

"Tch, I guess you're right. Hey, since you live in the same dorm, can you put in a good word for me? I'm..."

"I hear talking. I believe it's someone in Ms. Toriumi's class..." A man stood up and began prowling the rows like a cat.

Ms. Toriumi glared at her. "Shhh! Be quiet! You're going to get me in trouble!"

Yukari groaned and sunk back into her chair. This was going to be a long speech, wasn't it?

Hamuko gave a sigh of relief when she heard the bell ring. School was finally out. As she slowly got up, a voice came up from behind her.

"S'up, dude? How's it goin'?" Hamuko spun around to see a classmate smiling at her. He offered out his hand. "I'm Junpei Iori. Nice to meet ya. I transferred here when I was in eighth grade. I know how tough it is bein' the new kid..."

Before Hamuko could accept the handshake, another voice came out.

"At it again, huh? Honestly, is there any girl you wouldn't hit on? Did you ever think you might be bothering someone?" Yukari walked up, schoolbag on her arm.

"What? Yuka-tan? I'm offended. Can't I be friendly to the new kid without getting accused of hitting on her? It's hard being a nice guy..." Junpei sighed.

Dryly, Yukari commented, "I didn't see you say 'hi' to Minato-kun."

"It's not my fault, he's sleeping for God's sake!"

"Whatever. Anyways, Hamuko, can you tell Minato-kun not to tell anyone about last night?"

"L-Last night?" Junpei's eyes grew exponentially.

"D-Don't get the wrong idea you perv. Just shut up. Argg, I'm off to archery practice." The flustered Yukari began to leave the rooms. "Junpei, if I hear ANY rumors... Well, I don't have to say anything, right?" With that, Yukari left.

"Ah, who cares? No one takes rumors seriously, anyway. She's so paranoid... But, hey! It's you guy's first day here, and people are already talkin' about you two! Heheh, this is gonna be a fun year. I can feel it! Anyways, nice meein' ya. I'm off."

With the room empty, Hamuko sighed. "I should wake Minato-kun up."

Hamuko turned around to see the blue haired boy sleeping with headphones on. "Oh yeah, he had headphones like me... I wonder if we like the same bands?" Hamuko thought. "I'll ask him later." Grinning, Hamuko began to poke Minato.

"Ahhh." Minato yawned.

Hamuko giggled. "Morning, Sleeping Beauty."

"Welcome back you two."

"Hello Mitsuru-sempai," Hamuko cheerfully replied, while Minato gave Mitsuru a curt nod.

"Oh? Off to bed already you two?" Mitsuru raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah... I couldn't get any sleep last night." Hamuko sighed. "I did come pretty late..."

Mitsuru nodded in agreement. "True. Good night you two."

"Hey." Hamuko spun around. For the first time, as the two were walking up the stairs, Minato spoke directly to Hamuko. "What's the date today?"

"Uh, I think it's the seventh. Why do you ask?"

"So, two more days, huh?" Minato muttered.

"Two more days...?" Hamuko began to wonder what he meant.

"It's nothing." Minato began to walk to his room. "I would be ready in two days." With that, he closed his door and turned off the lights.

"Two... days?" Despite the odd and random warning, Hamuko couldn't help but shudder. The feeling was back.

Well, this is my first fic. I hope you enjoy it. Feel free to give me any advice like I said.

Poll: Should this be MinatoXHamuko or MinatoXYukari and HamukoXAki?

Thanks

~Goojila